STOP THE SHOW AND RETIRE THE COFFS HARBOUR DOLPHINS TO A SEA SANCTUARY

SINCE THIS PETITION WAS STARTED THE BABY DOLPHIN JI HAS PASSED AWAY. There has been no explanation for his death.

Almost 6000 signatures have been collected which shows many people are against holding dolphins in pools and public opinion is changing. I have included a solution at the bottom of this letter, we have people in this country who can create the change we need.

In Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia, at a place called ‘Dolphin Marine Magic – the Pet Porpoise Pool’, there are six intelligent, beautiful bottlenose dolphins, living in 2 small concrete pools.

BUCKY (pictured) is 45, he was born in the wild in 1970 and rescued as a calf with severe sunburn. He has been in the pool 44 years.

CALAMITY was wild born in approximately 1981 and has been rescued twice. After her second rescue and rehabilitation she was deemed not suitable for release because of injuries to her tail. She has been in the pool for approximately 20 years.

ZIPPY is 27, he was born in captivity. Parents: Bucky and Buttons.

BELLA is 10, she was born in captivity. Parents: Bucky and Calamity

JET is 6, he was born in captivity. Parents: Bucky and Calamity

JI is a juvenile male calf born in captivity. Parents: Bucky and Calamity

Breeding dolphins in captivity is wrong.

There is nothing natural about these pools they live in. They are small, concrete, dirty, and contain chlorine. They cannot dive down deep enough to escape noise or bad weather. There is no shelter. There is no sand, and there are no shells or seagrass, nothing at all to resemble their natural environment. The metal bars surrounding the show pool vibrate on contact when people are rough, and this affects the dolphins wellbeing. Their movements are still graceful, but lack the total abandon and carefree enthusiasm of a dolphin in the wild. They have no space.

Twice a day Bucky and Zippy perform tricks for dead fish. They entertain visitors by jumping high into the air, playing with toys, balancing balls on their rostrums, tail walking, giving out dolphin kisses, and swimming upside down around the edge of the show pool so people can stroke their bellies. No one is asked to remove jewellery to protect their fragile skin. They have scars on their backs. Bella and Jet are used for the interactive swim experience. Calamity is still nursing Ji as he is just 6 months old. A recording of a short song “Everybody gets touched by magic” plays over the speaker system on a regular basis. Profit is made at the expense of their suffering.

Bucky, Calamity, Zippy, Bella, Jet and Ji deserve to feel the ocean on their skin, and they deserve to be set free from performing humiliating shows for human entertainment. Their natures are still so beautiful.. that is just the dolphins way, but, it is not ‘educational’ to take children to see dolphins in captivity. It IS educational to take children on a boat to see dolphins in the wild, in their natural habitat, the place they are born to be. It is their birth right. Their freedom.

Dolphins are extremely intelligent beings with strong social ties. They are playful, curious and smart, swimming miles every day, surfing the waves and bows of boats, hunting for fish, teaching their young to survive, and protecting eachother. Dolphins often seek our company and have been known to save human lives. It is extremely unnatural and unimaginably cruel to keep them in concrete tanks, where loud noises hurt their sonars. Dolphins suffer greatly in captivity in so many ways. They cannot express their natural behaviour, because their surroundings are anything but natural. These beautiful dolphins cannot speak for themselves, so we must be their voice. The day I looked into Bucky’s eyes changed me forever, such beauty, such intelligence, such sadness. Can you even imagine being in the same small space for 43 years, with no escape? I cannot stand by and not fight for Bucky and his family, I hope you will join us on our mission.

Australia is a coastal country... we can do better than this. Please sign and share this petition and help Empty the Tanks at Dolphin Marine Magic. We are petitioning for a sea sanctuary to be their new home, so they can live their lives in as much peace as we can offer them in their natural habitat - the sea. They need our help. It is time for change. The show must stop.

To truely be ‘touched by magic’ is to see dolphins in the ocean...

AIMR -

The Australian Institute of Marine Rescues is a not for profit registered organisation led up by Dr Verné Dove, a world leading dolphin Veterinarian with extensive experience in Australia and overseas, who is well known for her current work with the Whyalla dolphins in South Australia, past work with the Mekong river Irrawaddy dolphins, and dolphins in the Amazon river, Colombia. Verné has also spent a number of years from 2006 to 2010, working with WWF (World wildlife Fund for Nature) and WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) in Cambodia as a VIDA (Volunteer for International Development Australia) volunteer veterinarian.

AIMR and their team have the expertise, the drive and compassion to build and run the sea sanctuary we need for the Coffs Harbour dolphins. They are a rescue, rehabilitation and research centre, focused on the health of marine species. AIMR aims to understand, protect and conserve marine animals with a focus on mega fauna such as whales, dolphins, dugongs and sharks. The Australasian Institute of Marine Rescues would incorporate a number of distinct areas working together under one roof. A Stranding Investigation Program, a marine hospital and rehabilitation facility, a sanctuary, a research centre, and an Australian Stranding Network.

The mission of The Australasian Institute of Marine Rescues is to provide the highest quality of veterinary care to sick and debilitated stranded animals in a marine hospital and sea sanctuary. To collaboratively work with similar organisations and government authorities to collect as much information as possible from each stranding, to enhance the scientific understanding of the medical management, conservation requirements, and ecology of stranded animals to be able to assist in implementing informed conservation and management strategies; in addition to publish and disseminate all research findings to the relevant authorities including The Australian government, scientists, conservationists, and the general public.

AIMR can lead the way to change and phase out captivity for dolphins in Australia. The phasing out of dolphins in captivity was a legislation made 30 years ago and public opinion is steadily changing, but we are still fighting 30 years later. Coffs Harbour could have a real educational attraction and state of the art facilities. If we can do this we can retire the dolphins from the their concrete pool shows, and give them the best life we can, in their home, the ocean.

Dr Dove and AIMR have one philosophy, that dolphins do not deserve a life of captivity and that it's time to change this forever.

I ask that you please consider the plight of captive dolphins. It is an outdated and cruel practice to keep them in marine parks. Please help us to help them.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this petition and hope you will consider that we need to make changes in this country. Animals feel, just like we do.

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Sarah . needs your help with “The HON Niall Blair MLC, Minister for the Department of Primary Industries
STOP THE SHOW AND RETIRE THE COFFS HARBOUR DOLPHINS TO A SEA SANCTUARY”. Join Sarah and 7,300 supporters today.